IRVINE, CA –Rutan & Tucker, LLP is pleased to announce the addition of Hope Anne Case as a partner in the Palo Alto office. She joins the firm’s Employment section with associates Amy Fisher and Adrianna Rubino. The group came from Ricketts Case, LLP, where Ms. Case was a founding shareholder and Ms. Fisher and Ms. Rubino were associates. The firm’s Employment section also welcomes Joanna Blake as Of Counsel in the Irvine office. Ms. Blake most recently served as Vice President of Human Resources and General Counsel for WKS Restaurant Group.
Maria Stearns, Chair of Rutan & Tucker’s Employment section said, “Our employment team is in high demand and we are excited to expand our capabilities and reach with the addition of these experienced and well-respected attorneys.”
Ms. Case represents employers in misclassification, wage and hour, wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, and harassment suits in various courts throughout California and before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, and the Labor Commissioner. Her practice also focuses on counseling and training on all aspects of the employment relationship and conducting audits and transactional due diligence of labor and employment practices and risks. She services clients in many industries, including hospitality, manufacturing, technology, health care, finance, and transportation in addition to the non-profit sector. Prior to co-founding a boutique law firm, Ms. Case was a partner at DLA Piper, where she represented and counseled employers for 20 years.
Ms. Blake brings with her more than 20 years of legal experience, 12 of those in-house. At WKS, a California-based multi-unit, multi-brand franchisee with more than 10,000 employees in 19 states, Ms. Blake oversaw dedicated teams in Human Resources and Learning and Development, and managed legal and compliance issues. During her career, she has represented employers in employment and wage/hour litigation, advised and counseled company executives, business partners and HR teams about employee relations, wage/hour issues, sensitive terminations, discrimination and harassment claims, and protected leaves, and has provided training about wage/hour regulations and employment law compliance.
